Football , with
35 goals in 42 appearances (in all official competitions) between 1965 and 1974, is
Italy's all-time leading goalscorer.
Football (
calcio in
Italian) is the most popular sport in Italy. The
Italy national football team is considered to be one of the best national teams in the world. They have won the
FIFA World Cup four times (
1934,
1938,
1982,
2006), trailing only
Brazil (with 5), runners-up in two finals (
1970,
1994) and reaching a third place (
1990) and a fourth place (
1978). They have also won two
European Championships (
1968 and
2020), also appearing in two finals (
2000,
2012), finished third at the
Confederations Cup (
2013), won one
Olympic football tournament (
1936) and two
Central European International Cups (
1927–30 and
1933–35). Italy's top domestic league, the
Serie A, is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world and it is often depicted as the most tactical national football league.
Serie A clubs have seen success in the
Champions League (formerly the European Cup), the premier
European club competition, winning it twelve times. Italy's club sides have won 48 major European trophies, making them the second most successful nation in European football.
Serie A hosts three of the world's most famous clubs as
Juventus,
Milan and
Inter, all founding members of the
G-14, a group which represented the largest and most prestigious European football clubs;
Serie A was the only league to produce three founding members. Juventus, Milan and Inter, along with
Roma,
Fiorentina,
Lazio and historically
Parma, but now
Napoli, are known as the Seven Sisters of Italian football. The Italian word for soccer is '''', "kick", taken from the name of Italy's traditional football games, as opposed to being adapted from the English name
football or
soccer, as in most other languages. Often, Italian children can be seen playing on the street with friends and relatives. stadium in
Milan. The history of football in Italy gives much of the explanation behind why it has remained such a popular sport today. The first record of an Italian football team goes back to 1893. This team was named
FC Genoa. The sport was brought to Italy through
the Romans, who used to play a very similar game called
harpastum, which included two teams aiming to score on their opponents side (hands could be used along with feet). Years later, the
Renaissance brought about big changes for not only the art and culture of Italy, but also for sport. Specifically,
Florence was the spot where the most changes occurred. Football of the past was different from that of today as teams were much larger with 27 people. Also, the games were only 50 minutes long. Today, the games consist of two 45 minute halves. The Italy National team first began playing in 1910 in the FIFA World Cup. To the surprise of many fans, the Italy National Team did not qualify for the tournament in 2017. This was the first time in sixty years that the team did not make the World Cup after losing to
Sweden. The loss was published in popular sport newspapers in Italy such as
La Gazzetta dello Sport, which is one of the largest selling newspapers in Italy. legendary figure in Italian women's football, Carolina Morace was a prolific striker who played for the Italian national team and also served as their coach. Stadiums have also become more than a place to watch a football game today. All across Italy, stadiums now include various different things such as museums, shops, and restaurants for the people attending the game to enjoy. Italian football stadiums also host other venues such as concerts, rugby matches, and field and track. Italy takes pride in their football stadiums and have some of the most well known in the world. Most Italian stadiums have stadium tours where children six and under are allowed to go for free . The
city of Milan stadium, which is also known as the
San Siro stadium, has the biggest seating capacity in Italy with 80,018 seats. The stadium is also known in the country as "La Scala del Calcio." It is also known as the "Giuseppe Meazza" stadium after the Italian star,
Giuseppe Meazza. It brings together more than 1200 clubs. vs.
Croatia during the
2016 Summer Olympics • The
Italy men's national water polo team represents
Italy in men's international
water polo (
pallanuoto in
Italian) competitions. The national men's team has the nickname of
Settebello, a reference to both the Italian card game
scopa and a standard water polo team having seven players. The Italian men's water polo team has won 8
Olympic medals, 7
World Championships, 5
World Cup, 11
European Championships medals and 3
World League medals, making them one of the
most successful men's water polo teams in the world. They have won a combined twelve championships in those five competitions, with the World League, the last competition which Italy won in 2022. :The
Italy women's national water polo team represents
Italy in international
women's
water polo competitions and friendly matches. The team is one of the leading teams in
Europe since the mid-1990s, claiming the title at the
2004 Summer Olympics in
Athens, Greece. The squad is nicknamed the
Setterosa. The
Serie A1 di pallanuoto maschile is the premier division of the
Italian water polo male
national championship. First held in 1912, it is currently contested by twelve teams.
Pro Recco is the Serie A1's most successful club with 36 titles since 1959, followed by
CN Posillipo with eleven. •
Sailing (
vela in
Italian) and
rowing (
canottaggio in
Italian) are popular sport in Italy. Notable Italian sailors are
Agostino Straulino and
Alessandra Sensini, while noteworthy Italian rower are
Peppiniello Di Capua,
Giuseppe Abbagnale,
Carmine Abbagnale and
Agostino Abbagnale. The Barcolana became the
Guinness World Record holder in February 2019 when it was named "the greatest sailing race" with its 2,689 boats and over 16,000 sailors on the starting line. The Barcolana is organized by the yacht club Società Velica di
Barcola e Grignano. Thanks to its particular formula, the Barcolana is a unique event on the international sailing stage: on the same starting line expert sailors and sailing lovers race side by side on boats of different sizes divided into several divisions according to their overall length. Still on the subject of
boat racing, another noteworthy race is the
Regatta of the Historical Marine Republics. The Regatta of the Historical
Maritime Republics is a sporting event of historical re-enactment, established in 1955 with the aim of recalling the rivalry of the most famous Italian maritime republics: those of
Republic of Amalfi,
Republic of Pisa,
Republic of Genoa and
Republic of Venice, during which four rowing crews representing each of the republics compete against each other. This event, held under the patronage of the
President of Italy, takes place every year on a day between the end of May and the beginning of July, and is hosted in rotation between these cities. • In 1972,
synchronized swimming (
nuoto sincronizzato in
Italian) took hold in Italy, thanks to the commitment of a swimming teacher at the Lanciani swimming pool in Rome, who decided to let boys and girls try to train the alternating
backstroke, rhythmizing the movements. In 1976 the first synchronized swimming team was formed, the "clams", made up of seven girls and one boy. In Italy, the first national diving championship was held in 1900 in
Milan, at
Bagni di Diana.
Italy women's national basketball team at the
European Women's Basketball Championship the Italian team won gold medal in
1938 and bronze medal in
1974. guarded by
Myisha Hines-Allen in 2018. A total of 99 teams have competed in the
LBA since its inception.
Seventeen teams have been crowned champions, with
Olimpia Milano having won the title a record 28 times, and
Virtus Bologna 16 times. According to
FIBA Europe's and
Euroleague Basketball's
national league coefficients, the LBA was the historically top ranked national domestic league in
Europe, for the period 1958 to 2007. Today, the LBA is considered to be one of the top European national basketball leagues. Its clubs have won the most
EuroLeague championships (
13), the most
FIBA Saporta Cups (
15), and the most
FIBA Korać Cups (
10). Famous Italian club teams include
Olimpia Milano,
Virtus Bologna,
Pallacanestro Varese,
Pallacanestro Cantù,
Fortitudo Bologna,
Victoria Libertas,
Pallacanestro Treviso,
Mens Sana 1871,
Virtus Roma,
Pallacanestro Trieste,
JuveCaserta and
Scaligera Verona.
Athletics The governing body of
Athletics (
atletica leggera in
Italian) in Italy is
Italian Athletics Federation affiliated to European federation, the
European Athletic Association (EAA), international federation, the
International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and
Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), which in turn is a member of
International Olympic Committee (IOC). The
Italy national athletics team represents Italy at the
international athletics competitions such as
Olympic Games or
world athletics championships. Amongst the most famous Italian athletes, there's the sprinter
Pietro Mennea (1952-2013) who held the
200 metres world record (19:72) for 17 years from 1979 to 1996 and is still holder of the European record. Other notable Italian athletes are
Ugo Frigerio,
Ondina Valla,
Adolfo Consolini,
Pino Dordoni,
Abdon Pamich,
Livio Berruti,
Sara Simeoni,
Gabriella Dorio,
Alberto Cova,
Gelindo Bordin,
Stefano Baldini,
Maurizio Damilano,
Dorando Pietri,
Paola Pigni,
Luigi Beccali,
Alessandro Andrei,
Gianmarco Tamberi and
Marcell Jacobs.
Cycling is the
Grands Tours' second oldest.
Cycling (
ciclismo in
Italian) is a well-represented sport in Italy.
Bicycle racing is a familiar sport in the country. As the Giro gained prominence and popularity the race was lengthened, and the peloton expanded from primarily Italian participation to riders from all over the world. The Giro is a
UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams that compete in the race are mostly
UCI WorldTeams, with some additional teams invited as 'wild cards'. The rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the general classification and wears the
pink jersey. cyclist specializing in road and track events, known for her sprinting abilities and multiple world championship titles in track cycling. Two of the five '
Monuments', the oldest and most prestigious one-day races on the cycling calendar, are located in Italy:
Milan–San Remo, held in March, and
Giro di Lombardia, held in September or October. The Milan–San Remo, also called "
The Spring classic" or "
La Classicissima", is an annual
road cycling race between
Milan and
Sanremo, in
Northwest Italy. With a distance of 298 km (~185.2 miles) it is the longest professional one-day race in modern cycling. It is the first major
classic race of the season. The first edition was held in
1907. The Giro di Lombardia, officially
Il Lombardia, is a
cycling race in
Lombardy,
Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five '
Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cycling, and one of the last events on the
UCI World Tour calendar. Nicknamed the
Classica delle foglie morte ("the Classic of the falling (dead) leaves"), it is the most important
Autumn Classic in cycling. The race's most famous climb is the
Madonna del Ghisallo in the race finale. Because of its demanding course, the race is considered a
climbers classic, favouring climbers with a strong sprint finish. Some of the most successful Italian road cyclists have been
Costante Girardengo,
Fausto Coppi,
Gino Bartali,
Alfredo Binda,
Felice Gimondi,
Fiorenzo Magni,
Mario Cipollini,
Francesco Moser,
Marco Pantani,
Moreno Argentin,
Paolo Bettini,
Michele Bartoli,
Gianni Bugno,
Alessandro Petacchi and
Vincenzo Nibali. The economic footprint of the sport is substantial, with around 33 million visitors in Italy now including some cycling in their trip according to pro.eurovelo.com. Within that group, Ecobnb reports about 9 million “pure” cycle tourists travel primarily to ride. In 2023, cycling tourism generated 56.8 million trips and over €5.5 billion in direct economic impact per E-Bike Travel, and by 2024, the Cycle Tourism Show estimated visits tied to cycle tourism in Italy reached 89 million, continuing the boom.
Rugby union during a rugby union match in the
2011 Six Nations Championship, between Italy and
France, which resulted in an upset victory for Italy.
Rugby union (
rugby a 15 in
Italian) enjoys a good level of popularity, especially in the north of the country. From the 2010–11 season, Italy has had two teams in the
Pro12, previously an all-
Celtic competition, involving teams from
Ireland,
Scotland, and
Wales. To accommodate this move, the country's
National Championship of Excellence effectively became a semi-professional developmental competition. The two Pro12 sides took up Italy's existing places in the elite Europe-wide club competition, then known as the Heineken Cup and now as the
European Rugby Champions Cup, and four
Eccellenza sides compete in the second-tier
European Rugby Challenge Cup. Italy's
national team competes since 2000 in the
Six Nations Championship, and is a regular at the
Rugby World Cup, despite having yet to pass the group stage. Italy are classed as a tier-one nation by
World Rugby.
Rugby union in Italy is governed by the
Italian Rugby Federation. Rugby was introduced into
Italy in the early 1900s. It is also known as
pallovale or
palla ovale ("oval ball") within Italy. The governing body of Italian rugby union is the
Federazione Italiana Rugby (FIR). An original organisational committee was established in 1911, although it was in 1928 when the body became the FIR, and in 1987, it joined the
International Rugby Board. In 1934 the FIR became a founding member of the
Federation Internationale de Rugby Amateur. Rugby union's traditional heartland consisted of the small country towns in the
Po Valley, and other parts of
Northern Italy. One version says that Italian workers returning from France, particularly the south, introduced the game there, and gave it a significant rural/working class base, which still exists in towns such as
Treviso and
Rovigo.
Beach tennis with paddle racquet was invented by Italians, and is practiced by many people across the country. The five most successful Italian tennis players with regard to
Grand Slam tournament results are
Nicola Pietrangeli (
1959 French Championships and
1960 French Championships),
Adriano Panatta (
1976 French Open),
Francesca Schiavone (
2010 French Open),
Flavia Pennetta (
2015 US Open) and
Jannik Sinner (
2024 Australian Open,
2024 US Open,
2025 Australian Open, and
2025 Wimbledon). tennis player. The
Italy Davis Cup team won the
1976 Davis Cup, and other three in a row in
2023 Davis Cup,
2024 Davis Cup, and
2025 Davis Cup and the
Italy Fed Cup team won six times the
Fed Cup in 2006, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2024, 2025. These triumphs, including an extraordinary three in a row, establish Italy as a true queen of modern tennis prestige. Italian players such as
Sara Errani,
Flavia Pennetta,
Roberta Vinci and
Francesca Schiavone have entered the WTA Top 10 in their careers. Schiavone was the first Italian player to win a
Grand Slam singles title, winning the
2010 French Open; she was later followed by Pennetta, who won the
2015 US Open. The doubles duo of
Sara Errani and
Roberta Vinci have accomplished a Career Grand Slam in doubles, have been named
ITF World Champions 3 years in a row (2012, 2013, 2014) and have ended every season since 2012 as World No. 1. In 2019,
Matteo Berrettini became the first Italian in singles to reach the final of
Wimbledon.
Jannik Sinner winner of four Grand Slam titles is currently the top Italian player in the
ATP rankings, while
Jasmine Paolini is currently the top Italian player in the
WTA rankings.
Volleyball for
Italian Volleyball League Volleyball (
pallavolo in
Italian) is played by a lot of amateur players. The
Italian Volleyball League and
Italian Women's Volleyball League are held since 1946.
Modena Volley won 12 neb's titles,
Volley Treviso nine, and
Parma eight.
Teodora Pallavolo Ravenna won 11 women's titles,
Bergamo eight, and
Audax Modena five. In the
CEV Champions League, Modena and Treviso won four titles each,
Porto Ravenna and
Trentino Volley three, Parma two, and
CUS Torino and
Volley Lube one. In the
CEV Women's Champions League,
Bergamo won seven titles,
Olimpia Teodora Ravenna Sirio Perugia and
Matera two each, and
Modena and
Casalmaggiore won one each. The
Italy men's national volleyball team is one of the most successful national teams in the history of volleyball, having won four
World Championships (
1990,
1994,
1998 and
2022), seven
European Championships (
1989,
1993,
1995,
1999,
2003,
2005 and
2021), one
World Cup (
1995) and eight
World League (
1990,
1991,
1992,
1994,
1995,
1997,
1999 and
2000). The
Italy women's national volleyball team won the
FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship once (
2002), the
Women's European Volleyball Championship three times (
2007,
2009 and
2021) and the
FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League once (
2022). The Italian national teams have won both the 2021
Women's European Volleyball Championship and
Men's European Volleyball Championship in the same year. This also makes them the only country to have won the
UEFA European Championship,
Women's European Volleyball Championship and
Men's European Volleyball Championship all in the same year. Italy featured a women's national team in
beach volleyball that competed at the
2018–2020 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup.
Attendances The average attendance per top-flight league season and the volleyball club with the highest average attendance: Source: League page on Wikipedia
Winter sports and
Lino Lacedelli, the first people to
reach the summit of K2.
Winter sports (
sport invernali in
Italian), are popular in Italy. Among them, Italians excel in
cross-country skiing (
sci di fondo in
Italian), but also in
luge (
slittino in
Italian), with the two time Olympic gold medal winner
Armin Zoeggeler. •
Alpine skiing or ski (
sci in
Italian) is a very popular sport in Italy, with more than 2,000,000 skiers, most of them in the northern regions near the
Alps and in the central provinces near the
Apennine Mountains. Italian skiers have achieved good results in the Winter Olympic Games, World Cup, and World Championship, most notably
Zeno Colò,
Gustavo Thoeni, who won 4 Overall World Cups between 1970 and 1975;
Piero Gros, who was Overall World Cup champion in 1974,
Alberto Tomba who won the Overall World Cup in 1995 and
Federica Brignone, who was overall World Cup champion in 2020 and 2025. Tomba, Brignone,
Deborah Compagnoni, and
Isolde Kostner received many medals in different editions of the Winter Olympic Games.
Giorgio Rocca and
Manfred Mölgg won the Slalom World Cup in 2006 and 2008 respectively, whilst
Giuliano Razzoli was Olympic slalom champion in
2010 and
Sofia Goggia was Olympic downhill champion in
2018. Other Italian winners of World Cup discipline titles include
Peter Fill,
Peter Runggaldier,
Denise Karbon,
Marta Bassino and
Dominik Paris, with the latter two also winning World Championship golds. •
Cross-country skiing (
sci di fondo in
Italian) is popular in northern Italy, with athletes, who have won medals at the Winter Olympics, of the likes of
Franco Nones,
Maurilio De Zolt,
Stefania Belmondo,
Marco Albarello,
Giuseppe Pulie,
Giorgio Vanzetta,
Silvio Fauner,
Bice Vanzetta,
Manuela Di Centa,
Gabriella Paruzzi,
Fulvio Valbusa,
Fabio Maj,
Karin Moroder,
Pietro Piller Cottrer,
Cristian Zorzi,
Giorgio Di Centa,
Arianna Follis,
Antonella Confortola,
Sabina Valbusa and
Federico Pellegrino. •
Alpinism (
alpinismo in
Italian) is followed, because Italian alpinists wrote several pages of history in this sport. Italians
Achille Compagnoni and
Lino Lacedelli conquered
first the summit of K2 (8611 m) in 1954, in the expedition led by the geologist
Ardito Desio.
Reinhold Messner was the first man in the world to reach the 14 summits, over 8,000 meters, and the first one to climb
Mount Everest alone and without oxygen.
Cesare Maestri conquered the
Cerro Torre in
Patagonia in 1959.
Walter Bonatti is considered one of the best alpinists in Europe in 1950s, realizing some ascents considered impossible by the competitors. •
Figure skating (
pattinaggio di figura in
Italian) is a popular sport and professional figure skaters often starring in events of exhibition. Notable Italian athlete in figure skating is
Carolina Kostner. •
Bobsleigh (
bob in
Italian) is very followed, because Italian bobsledder
Eugenio Monti was the most successful athlete in the international history of this sport. •
Luge (
slittino in
Italian) is followed from its history, with
Paul Hildgartner and
Gerda Weissensteiner to the recent dominance of
Armin Zöggeler.
Bodybuilding In Italy,
bodybuilding is at the 10th place in the ranking of most popular sports, even considering the high number of people who engage in
body building gym, as amateur, just to keep fit themselves.
Combat sports Combat sports are participated and followed sports. There are many national and international events every year. •
Fencing (
scherma in
Italian) is a very successful sport and Italy is the most successful fencing country at the Olympics.
Italy national fencing team represents
Italy in International fencing competitions such as
Olympic Games or
World Fencing Championships. The national Italian fencing team participated to all the
Summer Olympics editions, from
Paris 1900, 26 times on 28. Noteworthy fencers are
Nedo Nadi,
Giulio Gaudini,
Edoardo Mangiarotti,
Giuseppe Delfino,
Irene Camber,
Mauro Numa,
Giovanna Trillini and
Valentina Vezzali. Notable Italian boxers are
Francesco Damiani,
Primo Carnera,
Nino Benvenuti,
Bruno Arcari,
Patrizio Oliva,
Duilio Loi,
Sandro Mazzinghi and
Roberto Cammarelle. Notable Italian judoka winners of gold medals at the Olympics are
Ezio Gamba,
Giuseppe Maddaloni,
Fabio Basile and
Giulia Quintavalle. • Notable Italian athlete in
Greco-Roman wrestling (
lotta greco-romana in
Italian) is
Vincenzo Maenza. In 1999 a statue of ''
Leonardo's horse'' was placed in the square in front of the racecourse. It is owned by Snaitech.
Capannelle Racecourse () is a
horse racing venue in
Rome. The course was constructed in 1881, and it was rebuilt in 1926 to a design by
Paolo Vietti-Violi. It was recently the venue of two
Group 1 flat races – the
Premio Lydia Tesio (downgraded to Group 2 in 2019) and the
Premio Roma (downgraded to Group 2 in 2017). The track also stages the most valuable flat race in Italy, the
Derby Italiano, which was downgraded to Group 2 status in 2009. The
Pferderennplatz Meran () is an Italian racecourse, located in the town of
Meran,
South Tyrol, used for
thoroughbred horse racing. It is one of the leading racecourses in Italy, hosting the annual
Grosser Preis von Meran (Grand Prix of Meran). As Meran grew in importance as a
spa town due to the visits by
Empress Elisabeth of Austria and the
aristocracy, the need to have organised horse races grew. In 1896, the first horse race took place and in 1900 a permanent racecourse established, which featured flat,
steeplechase, and trotting races.
Baseball vs.
South Africa during a
2020 Olympic qualifying event in
Parma, Italy.
Baseball is a growing, minor sport in Italy. Introduced to Italy by American servicemen during World War II, professional baseball leagues were not established until after the war. The
Italy national baseball team is traditionally ranked as the second best team in Europe, behind the
Dutch national team. Italy's performance during the Olympics has been consistently high for a European team, but is noted for its reliance on American and Latino players of Italian descent. The
highest level of play in Italy today is considered to be on par with
Class A ball in the United States. The
Italian Baseball League is the highest level of professional baseball in Italy.
Cricket The
Italy national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Italy in international cricket matches. They have been an associate member of the
International Cricket Council since 1995, having previously been an affiliate member since 1984. The team is administered by the
Federazione Cricket Italiana (Italian Cricket Federation). They are currently ranked 28th in the world by the
ICC, and are ranked fifth amongst European non-Test teams. The Italy national cricket team has won several European Cricket tournaments, and the popularity of
cricket is rising. All the Italian cricketers are home grown cricketers, and they had a well off position in the recent European Indoor Cricket Tournament and the
European Cricket Championship. They recently participated in the ICC
World Cricket League Division 4. They have also recently qualified for the
Men's T20 world cup in 2026, the first time the team has ever qualified for any edition of the
cricket world cup.
Handball The
Serie A is the name of the highest level
handball (
pallamano in
Italian) league of
Italy.
Pallamano Trieste is the championship's most successful club with seventeen titles. The
Serie A1 is the premier division of the
Italian women's handball national league. Established in 1970, it is currently contested by 13 clubs.
PF Cassano Magnago is the championship's most successful club with eleven titles in a row between 1986 and 1996, while
Jomi Salerno has been the most successful team in the 21st century so far with seven titles between 2004 and 2019.
Ice hockey in 2015,
Italy vs.
Slovenia Ice hockey (
hockey su ghiaccio in
Italian) is popular mainly in the
Northern Italy. The
Italy men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of Italy, and is controlled by the
Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio (FISG), a member of the
International Ice Hockey Federation. Italy men's national ice hockey team ranks 17th in the
IIHF World Ranking (2022).
Italian Hockey League - Serie A, formerly known as
Serie A, is the top tier of professional ice hockey in
Italy, which first began play in 1925. They are conducted under the authority of the
Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio (FISG). The league initially merged with the
Inter-National League to become the
Alps Hockey League in 2016. Italian teams in the Alps Hockey League also compete in the Italian Hockey League - Serie A. The league was known as
Elite.A during the 2013–14 season, and as
Italian Hockey League - Elite during the 2017-2018 season.
Futsal The
Italy national futsal team represents
Italy in international
futsal (
calcetto in
Italian) competitions such as the
FIFA Futsal World Cup and the
European Championships and is controlled by the
Italian Football Federation. It is one of the strongest teams in
Europe, champions in the
2003 UEFA Futsal Championship and
UEFA Futsal Euro 2014. The Italy national futsal team has appeared in the final match of the
FIFA Futsal World Cup once (
2004) as well as two third/fourth place playoffs.
Motorsports Motorsports (
sport motoristici in
Italian) in Italy have an important tradition and are very popular. the site has three tracks – the
Grand Prix track, the Junior track, and a high speed oval track with steep bankings which was left unused for decades and had been decaying until it was restored in the 2010s. The circuit's biggest event is the
Italian Grand Prix. With the exception of the
1980 running, the race has been hosted there since
1949. It is also one of the two Grand Prix present in every championship since the first one in
1950. In addition to Formula One, the circuit previously hosted the
1000 km Monza, an endurance sports car race held as part of the
World Sportscar Championship and the
Le Mans Series. Monza also featured the unique
Race of Two Worlds events, which attempted to run Formula One and
USAC National Championship cars against each other. The racetrack also previously held rounds of the
Grand Prix motorcycle racing (
Italian motorcycle Grand Prix),
WTCC,
TCR International Series,
Superbike World Championship,
Formula Renault 3.5 Series and
Auto GP. Monza currently hosts rounds of the
Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup,
International GT Open and
Euroformula Open Championship, as well as various local championships such as the
TCR Italian Series,
Italian GT Championship,
Porsche Carrera Cup Italia,
Italian F4 Championship, and the
Monza Rally Show. is the oldest surviving team in
Grand Prix racing,
Ferrari,
Abarth and
Lancia, have won in the most important races (
Targa Florio, Rally of Italy,
Mille Miglia,
24 Hours of Le Mans,
Nürburgring 24 Hours,
Carrera Panamericana) and won world and continental titles in all categories. The Italian driver
Giuseppe Farina, in his
Alfa Romeo, won the first
Formula One World Driver Championship in . Italian
Scuderia Ferrari is the oldest surviving team in
Grand Prix racing, (15 times world champion in the 350 and 500 cc classes with 10 victories at the Tourist Trophy). :They are followed by the champions of the present,
Max Biaggi,
Loris Capirossi, and in particular
Valentino Rossi, who has won 89 Grands Prix and 9 World Championships, being the only motorcycle racer to have won their world titles in 4 classes: one each in the 125cc, 250cc and 500cc, and six in the MotoGP. The
Bianchi,
Aprilia,
Beta,
Cagiva,
Gilera,
Guzzi,
MV Agusta,
TM Racing,
Benelli e
Ducati brands have won the most prestigious races and won world championships in all categories. :
Tony Cairoli is the most titled Italian in Motocross, while in the women's category (WMX)
Kiara Fontanesi is the most titled in the world, with six championships won, four of which were in a row. has won more
world championships in powerboat Formula 1 than anyone else in history :
Renato Molinari is one of the greatest in Italian powerboating, a driver with exceptional skills, multiple
world champion in Formula 1 and in many other international categories. More recently,
Guido Cappellini is a champion who, in the most important international class, Formula 1, has won more world championships than anyone else in history. In modern powerboating, Alex Carella (four-time world champion) and Francesco Cantando race among the top ranks. In addition to the motorboat Formula 1, the
Aquabike World Championship (jet ski) was held in the waters of
Piedmont,
Lombardy,
Apulia, and
Sardinia.
Golf Golf is played by over 90,000 registered players, as of 2021. There are several male and female professional players, with notable current players including
Costantino Rocca, the brothers
Edoardo, and
Francesco Molinari, and
Matteo Manassero. The most important tournament is the
Italian Open. The Molinari brothers won the
World Cup of Golf in
2009. The Ryder Cup 2023 will also take place in Rome for the first time.
American football celebrate victory after winning the XV
Italian Bowl in 1995
Italian Football League (IFL) is the top level
American football (
football americano in
Italian) league in
Italy established in 1980. The annual final
play-off game to determine the league champion is called the
Italian Bowl, that awards the title of "champion of Italy" and the
scudetto. Italian teams that have won the
Eurobowl have been
Legnano Frogs (1989) and
Bergamo Lions (2000, 2001 and 2002). The
Italy national American football team, nicknamed the
Blue Team is the national American football team for Italy. They have been successful, having won the
European championship three times, and been runner up three times. They won the 2021 IFAF European Championship, its third European title, having also won in 1983 and 1985. The best result at the
IFAF World Championship was 4th place at the
1999 IFAF World Championship.
Gymnastics is one of Italy's most accomplished artistic gymnasts.
Gymnastics (
ginnastica in
Italian) is a popular sport in Italy. On 17 March 1844, the Royal Gymnastics Society of
Turin, the oldest sports club in Italy, was established by the Swiss gymnast Rudolf Obermann, called to Italy by King
Charles Albert of Piedmont-Sardinia. On 15 March 1869, the
Italian Gymnastics Federation was founded in
Venice, the first sports federation in the history of Italy. At the turn of the millennium, Italy showed a growing quality in the discipline, with
Susanna Marchesi finishing 9th at the Individual All Around competition, as well as the team winning 6th place in the
2000 Summer Olympics. Italy won the silver medal at the
2004 Summer Olympics and came in at 4th place at the
2008 Summer Olympics. They also collected a string of medals throughout the 2005–2008 Olympic cycle. At the 2009 Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship in
Mie, Japan, the team soared to first place, winning the gold medal and becoming the new queens, a feat they achieved again at the 2010 Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship in Moscow. The celebration of Italian gymnastics is because they are among the best squads in the world, facing competitions against the Eastern European block of nations:
Belarus, Russia, and
Bulgaria.
Vanessa Ferrari was multiple world and European champion of artistic gymnastics.
Rugby league vs.
Scotland at the
2013 Rugby League World Cup Rugby league (
rugby a 13 in
Italian) was established prior to the 1950s, and the
Italy national rugby league team plays in various international competitions. The Italy national team were victorious in the
2013 Rugby League World Cup qualifying tournament. They will therefore contest their first
Rugby League World Cup in
2013. Italy has also participated in the
2009 European Cup and the
2000 Rugby League Emerging Nations Tournament.
Federazione Italiana Rugby League (FIRL) is the governing body for rugby league in Italy and has "associate member" status with the
Rugby League European Federation. The
Italian Rugby League Championship is an
amateur rugby league competition called the r-Evolution League that began in 2010. There are three conferences, north, central and south.
Lacrosse Although
lacrosse tournaments and competitions have been held in Italy since 2002, the first official edition of the championship dates back to the 2009-2010 season. The most successful team is the
Pellicani Bocconi of
Milan. Lacrosse in Italy is governed by the
Italian Lacrosse Federation, which was founded in 2007. The
Italy national lacrosse team has qualified for the
World Lacrosse Championship six consequtive times (2006-2024). At the most recent event U20 Women's Lacrosse World Championship in Hong Kong, China, it finished 8th out of 20.
Floorball The Italian
Floorball Championship is divided into two different leagues,
Campo Grande ("great field"), which takes place in a field of x , and
Campo Piccolo ("small field"), which takes place in a field of x . In the
2020 Men's World Floorball Championships the
Italy men's national floorball team did not pass the qualifications and did not pass to the final stage of the tournament. In 2022 it holds the 33rd position in the
IFF World Ranking. ==Traditional sports==